Machine for loading pineapple slices



June 9, 1964 J. FARMER 3,136,103

MACHINE FOR LOADING PINEAPPLE SLICES Filed Jan. 12, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG, 1

Inventor:

John Farmer his Attorney June 1964 J. FARMER 36,103

MACHINE FOR LOADING PINEAPPLE SLICES Filed Jan. 12, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 if s i W ji I7 I /8 32 I\ 'l 2 40? FIG. 2 11 Inventor:

A John Farmer BYMMM his Attorney June 9, 1964 J. FARMER 3,136,103

MACHINE FOR LOADING PINEAPPLE SLICES Filed Jan. 12, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 5

Inventor:

John Farmer his Attorney FIG. 4-

June 9, 1964 J. FARMER 3, 3 3

MACHINE FOR LOADING PINEAPPLE SLICES Filed Jan. 12, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 6

Inventor:

John Farmer m 1 Bydmm his Attorney United States Patent 3,136,103 MACHINE FOR LOADING PINEAPPLE SLICES John Farmer, Oahu, Hawaii, assignor to Honolulu Iron Works Company, Honolulu, Hawaii, a corporation of Hawaii Filed Jan. 12, 1961, Ser. No. 82,239 Claims. (Cl. 53-123) This invention relates generally to methods and machines for loading pineapples and like solid comestibles into cans.

In processing pineapples in a pineapple cannery, it is the present practice for pineapple alices to be loaded by hand into open-topped cans at an inspection and sorting table positioned in the processing line beyond a slicing machine. The loading is performed by operators stationed at the table who sort the slices according to quality as well as load them by hand. Since the cans are then unlabeled, the different qualities of slices are differentiated between by supplying the empty cans to the table on trays of different colors, one for each quality, on which the cans remain after they have been filled until they are delivered to another part of the plant for syruping and vacuum sealing. Not only are the sorting and loading of the slices performed by hand, but the trays holding the cans are also handled manually, being both delivered to and carried away from the inspection and sorting table on hand carts. These operations, the sorting and loading of the slices and transportation of the trays holding the cans, are necessarily tedious and use a substantial part of the labor force now required to process pineapples, to say nothing of the burden placed on the individual operators by the hand sorting and loading. A further problem is presented if it is desired to cut the slices into tidbits or chunks before they are loaded into cans. In this case the slices are cut by hand or machine and machines have been proposed which will both cut and load slices. However, even in such machines the cutting and loading are separate operations performed at different stages of the operating cycle and the cut slices or tidbits are loaded vertically into cans.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide an improved method and machine for automatically loading pineapple slices into cans.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method and machine for loading pineapple slices horizontally into cans.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a can loader which not only loads pineapple slices into cans but automatically elevates the filled cans to any desired higher level.

A further object of the invention is to provide a can loader to which pineapples are fed in the form of slices and by which they can be selectively loaded into cans in either slice or tidbit form.

Another object of the invention is to provide a can loader whereby pineapple slices can be cut into tidbits and loaded into a presented can as part of a single straightline operation.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a method and machine for loading pineapple slices which are presented in batches each of a size to fill a can.

A further object of the invention is to provide a can loader to which pineapples are fed in sliced form and which automatically and in timed sequence presents for loading a batch of slices of a size to fill a can, loads the batch in either whole slice or tidbit form into a can open at one end, transfers the filled can to an elevator for transport to a higher level and replaces the filled can with an empty can for receiving the next batch.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a can 3,136,1h3 Patented June 9, 1964 loading machine which is fed by gravity with empty cans and in which an empty can automatically drops into position to be loaded as the preceding filled can is removed.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter in the detailed description, be particularly pointed out in the appended claims and be illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a preferred embodiment of the can loader of the present invention with portions broken away and shown in section to more clearly illustrate certain of the details of construction;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along lines 22 of FIGURE 1, but with the transfer cradle in slice-transferring position;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is an end elevational view of the loader of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken along lines 55 of FIGURE 1, but with the can drop in can-discharging position;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale taken along lines 6-6 of FIGURE 2, but showing the relative positions of certain of the moving parts at the end of the advance stroke of the pusher; and

FIGURE 7 is a diagrammatic view of the cams and followers responsible for driving the pusher, can drop and transfer cradle.

Referring now in detail to the drawings in which like reference characters designate like parts, the method and machine of the present invention are applicable to the loading of pineapples and like solid comestibles and are especially designed for use in pineapple canneries in loading slices which, in accordance with the practice of the industry, have been selected for uniform quality at an inspection and sorting station along a processing line from among cored cylindrical slices of uniform dimensions.

As applied to selected pineapple slices, the method and machine of this invention are particularly adapted for horizontal feeding and loading and to load in batches of a size to fill a can. They also are particularly adapted for automatic operation and, without change in the loading action, to cut pineapple slices, if desired, into tidbits or chunks as they are loaded into cans. Possessing these capabilities, the illustrated can loader or loading machine is fed horizontally with selected pineapple slices, presents the slices for loading in batches of can-filling size and, with or without cutting them into tidbits, loads the slices horizontally into horizontally disposed, open-ended cans, all automatically in timed sequence.

As illustrated, the can loader may be mounted on its own stand or supporting frame 1 and may be fed by a horizontally running, endless feed belt or conveyor 2 of rubber or like suitable material, conveniently supported at its discharge end here shown on the stand 1 and having its other end suitably supported. In the usual installation the feed belt 2 will run to the can loader from an inspection and sorting station along a main processing line and will afford at that station space for manual or other transfer to it of the slices selected for loading. To facilitate operation of the loader, the feed belt is designed to receive and support the selected slices upright or on edge and feed them endwise and in a single line to the loader. The preferred belt thus has a single endless groove or concave track 3 formed in or vulcanized or otherwise fixed to it and conforming in contour substantially to the cylindrical peripheries or edges of the selected slices.

The feed belt 2 discharges its slices onto a supply or receiver trough 4 of the cylindrical curvature of the slices. Backed at its rear end by a stop or backing plate 5 fixed to the stand 1, the supply trough 4 preferably is aligned longitudinally with the feed belt 2 and is divided into two contiguous, normally longitudinally aligned sections, one a fixed entry section 6 adjacent the feed belt and the other a transfer or shifter section,- cradle or trough 7. Hinged or pivoted to the stand '1 for swinging or oscillating in a limited are about a horizontal axis, as by a hinge or pivot pin 8, the transfer cradle 7 has or carries at its front end a a sweep or guide or temporary stop plate 9 which is fixed or attached to and projects or outstands radially from its back parallel to the stop plate 5. As its name implies, the sweep 9, while out of the way of the trough 4 in the normal or at rest position of the transfer cradle 7, is adapted, when the cradle swings from that position, to sweep across and temporarily block or stop the rear end of the fixed entry section 6 and for this purpose may be of the illustrated, generally crescent or other suitable shape. With the supply trough 4 so constructed, slices discharged onto it by the feed belt 2 will he slid along it by the pressure or force exerted by the belt on succeeding slices until the end slice has reached and is stopped by or abuts against the stop plate 5 or, in its progress toward that plate while the transfer cradle '7 is out of position, is temporarily halted, restrained or stopped by the sweep 9.

Of a length to accommodate a batch of slices of a size to fill the cans 1t) supplied to the loader in the manner hereinafter to be described and receiving or filled with such a batch by the progressive feeding of slices by the feed belt 2, the transfer cradle '7 is designed at the inner limit of its swing to transfer or shift and deposit or discharge that batch onto a fixed guide or centering trough 11 surmounting the stand 1. To receive the batch from the transfer cradle, the guide trough Jill is substantially transversely aligned or longitudinally coterminous with the cradle 7 and disposed substantially parallel to and spaced ransversely from the supply trough d of which the cradle is a part. Preferably U-shaped with its lower portion corresponding in curvature or cylindricality to the peripheries of the selected slices to be loaded, the guide trough 11 is open-ended and conveniently flanged at the rear for releasable mounting on a shell or housing 12 of a centering device 13 having a horizontally directed, cylindrical axial bore or throat 14 of the diameter of the selected slices. The shell 12 surmounts and is fixed or secured to the stand 1 and its bore is concentric or co-axial with and opens forwardly onto the guide trough 11, preferably through an interventing forwardly flaring mouth 15 formed in the shell to guide the slices from the trough into the bore.

The bore 14 of the centering device 13 in its turn opens rearwardly onto a container, receptacle or casing 16 in which each of the cans lit is filled and from which the cans after filling are dropped, transferred or shifted preferably onto an elevator 17 for transport directly or through suitable intervening conveying means (not shown) to syruping and vacuum packing facilities (not shown). As usual in can loading, each of the cans ill will have one end open at the loading stage and in this can loader each can is adapted to be held in horizontal position during loading or filling concentric with and with its open end confronting the bore 14 of the centering device 13. Here, the empty cans in the desired horizontal disposition are fed or supplied by gravity to the filling container 16 through a gravity chute, magazine or drop 18 attached to and opening at its lower end into and upstanding preferably vertically from the container.

Contained or held against transverse displacement and so in line by sides of the chute 18 before dropping to filling position, the empty cans 10 are received and held in filling position in the container 16 and later transferred to the elevator 17 by a can drop or receiver and drop 19, preferably'in the form of a pair of parallel counterpart plates 20 having cylindrically concave mouths or recesses the centering device 13 21 co-radial with or of a curvature corresponding to the circumference of the cans 10 and so spaced as to support the cans at spaced positions between or intermediate their ends. The can positioning and dropping plates 20 are mounted in the filling container 16 for swinging, pivoting or oscillating about a common horizontal axis parallel to and offset from the axis of the bore 14- of the centering device 13 by suitable means, such as a pivot rod 22 carried by a pair of transversely spaced arms 23 fixed to or rigid with a boss 24, which in turn is fixed or secured to a side of the stand 1.

Swingable in a limited arc, the plates 20, in the normal or'can-dropping position shown in FIGURE 4, have their recesses 21 opening rearwardly and downwardly toward the elevator 17 and, to guide the can into position to be picked up by one of the fingers, pushers or flights 25 of the illustrated elevator, have their lower or outer lips 26 extended or projected relative to their upper or inner lips 27. On the other hand, in the can-receiving position at the opposite end of their swing, the recesses 21 of the plates 29 face upwardly and are concentric with the bore 14 of the centering device 13. In this latter position, the plates 20 hold a can, as it'is filled, between the centering device 13 and a backing plate 29 conveniently forming the rear wall of the filling container 16. To enable the plates to support the column or stack of empty cans in the chute 18 without being unduly restrained at any point in their swing, as well as to drop the cans smoothly to loading position, the upper or inner lips 27 of the plates are rounded and their upper edges 28 adjoining and merging with those lips are cylindrical and concentric with the plates common pivotal axis.

The elevator 17 onto which the cans after filling preferably are dropped by the can-receiving and dropping plates 20, has as its elevating or lifting means an endless chain 31 driven by a drive sprocket 31 mounted on a side of the stand l and itself driving or lifting the filled cans by the fingers, pusher's or flights 25, the latter of which may be forwardly flat or concave depending on the inclination of the elevator and are fixed to the chain at intervals or spacings such that one will be in the position shown in FIGURE 4 to receive each filled can as the latter is dropped from the filling container 16. Since the filled cans, when discharged onto or deposited on the elevator 17, will be open at one end, it usually will be desirable to provide the corresponding or open end-confronting side of the elevator with a side rail 32 to ensure that the slices will remain in the cans, Instead of having but one such side rail 32, the illustrated elevator 17 has two, one at either side, and these side rails form the sides of a channel member 33, the web 34 of which underlies and supports the advance or upward flight of the chain 30. Not only does the channel member 33 hold the cans against axial displacement by virtue of the spacing of its sides 32 in substantial correspondence with the length of the cans ill but it also stiffens the elevator and aids the pushers 25 in steadying the cans by having bottom rails 35 fixed to and upstanding from its web 34 at either side of the chain 39.

For pushing or forcing each batch of slices deposited on the guide trough 11 by the transfer cradle '7 through and into the open ends of the cans 10, there is provided a pusher or plunger 36 having 7 a preferably forwardly tapering frusto-conical head or pusher plate 37 fixed to a rear end of a stem 38, the opposite end portion of which is threaded and fits through a bracket 3% fixed to and upstanding from a carriage or slide block 40, the latter sliding or reciprocating horizontally on a V- or like suitable slide or guideway 41 fixed to the stand 1. Slidably received in the bracket 39, the threaded portion 42 of the stem 38 of the pusher enables the position of the head 37 to be adjusted axially by a pair of nuts 43 threaded onto the stem and clampable against opposite sides of the bracket. Reciprocating on its carriage 40, the pusher 36 has on its head 37 a fiat, circular rear face 44 of substantially the diameter of the bore 14, which is designed in the normal or at rest position of the head to lie immediately to the front of the guide trough 11 so as initially to assist in holding thereon the batch of slices transferred thereto by the transfer cradle 7. Thereafter, in the advance stroke of the pusher 36, the head 37 will move through the guide trough 11 and the bore 14 of the centering device 13 substantially to the open end of the presented can 10. The pusher 36 with the centering device 13 and the drop or receiver plates 20 thus is capable in a single stroke of loading a can with a batch of slices of a size to fill it.

The illustrated can loader not only possesses the above capability but also is capable alternatively or selectively of cutting the slices radially into tidbits or chunks as they are pushed or forced through the centering device 13 into the presented can 16. This is accomplished by providing the centering device 13 with a pair of interchangeable inserts each including a cylindrical ring or sleeve 45 fittable or insertable from the rear into a corresponding axial groove 46 in the shell 12 about the bore 14 and releasably held in place by an annular retainer, locking or thrust plate or ring 47 bolted or otherwise releasably attached to the rear end of the shell. When either insert is in place, the inner wall 48 of its sleeve 45 and the contiguous wall 49 of the retainer ring 47, both of which are concentric with the bore 14 and of the diameter of the slices being loaded, together form substantially the entire inner or bore-defining wall of the shell 12. One of the inserts is simply the sleeve 45 with its inner, boredefining wall 48 smooth and uninterrupted. The other is that illustrated in FIGURE 6 in which the inner wall 48'of the sleeve 45 is slotted to receive and interrupted by a plurality of circumferentially spaced knives or cutters 50 cemented or otherwise fixed to the sleeve and instanding radially into the bore 14 to the radial depth of the slices. The knives 50 have forwardly facing cutting edges 51 which preferably are inclined rearwardly by making the knives triangular in shape so that the slices will be cut progressively from their peripheries as they are pushed through the bore 14.

While not necessary for the sleeve 45 of the smoothbored insert, which will be used when it is desired to load the slices as received in the form of whole, radially uncut slices, the sleeve of the cutter-carrying insert or cutter head is keyed or otherwise suitably located or positioned circumferentially of the shell 12 and held against rotation relative thereto. Correspondingly, the head 37 of the pusher 36 is slotted radially to pass the knives 50 as it passes through the bore 14 in completing its advance or power stroke. Consequently, when the knived insert is in place, the slices of each batch will be cut radially into tidbits or chunks of a size determined by the number of the knives 50, if, as is preferred, the circumferential spacing of the knives is uniform, and the tidbits of each slice will remain in and not be disturbed from their positions in that slice as the slices of the batch are loaded into the cans.

With the feed belt 2 feeding slices onto the supply trough 4, the oscillating transfer cradle 7 of the latter transferring the slices in batches to the guide troughv 11, the reciprocable pusher 36 pushing the slices in batches through the centering device 13 into the open-ended cans 10, and the oscillating can drop 19 receiving the cans when empty and dropping them when filled onto the elevator 17, it is necessary, for the can loader to operate as intended, that the transfer cradle, pusher, can drop and elevator be driven cyclically in correct timed sequence. While the cyclically related parts might be driven separately and a suitable cyclic control depended on to ensure that they will be driven in timed sequence, it is preferred and ordinarily simpler to provide for these parts a common drive and to drive the oscillating and reciprocating parts through cams. To this end, the illustrated can loader has a single electric or other suitable motor '72. and at the other to the related follower.

52, a /3 HP. electric motor ordinarily sufficing, and the motor is drivably connected by a V-belt or like suitable connection 53 to a worm 54, forming with a worm wheel 55, ahoused reduction worm gear 56. Both the motor 52 and the reduction gear 56 conveniently are mounted inside the stand 1 and the motor preferably is mounted on a hinged plate or platform 57 shiftable in position through an actuating knob 58 mounted on the stand and threadedly engaging a bolt 59 pivoted to the plate, for taking up any slack in the drive belt 53.

Projecting or extending from opposite sides of the housing 60 of the reduction gearing 56, at one end through a bushing 61 fixed to a side of the stand 1, the shaft 62 mounting the worm Wheel 55 mounts at that end the drive sprocket 31 for the chain 30 of the elevator 17 and so drives the latter. On its opposite end, the shaft 62 mounts a preferably barrel or face cam 63 and within the stand 1, intermediate the drive sprocket 31 and the housing 60, the same drive shaft mounts a pair of axially spaced edge cams, suitably on a common hub 64, the barrel cam and the edge cams, as well as the drive sprocket 31, all being suitably keyed or otherwise fixed to the shaft for rotation therewith. Of the pair of edge cams, that closer to the housing 60 is the drive cam 65 for the can drop 19, while the other is the drive cam 66 for the cradle 7. Each of the can drop and cradle cams 65 and 66 is engaged by one of a pairof followers or rocker arms 67 and 68 respectively, each preferably through a roller 69 riding on its edge and mounted on the free end of the related follower.

The followers 67 and 68 are both mounted on a rocker shaft 70 rotatable or journaled in axially spaced bearings 71 mounted on a shelf 72 fixed to the stand 1, which shelf also conveniently serves as the support for the housed reduction gearing 56. Also mounted on the rocker shaft 70 are a pair of crank arms or cranks, one 73 for the can drop follower 67 and the other 74 for the cradle follower 68. To enable each of the followers to transmit movement to, swing or rock the associated or related crank independenly, the can drop follower 67 and crank 73 are fixed to the rocker shaft 70, while the cradle follower 68 and its crank 74 are fixed to or integral with a sleeve or bushing 75 rotatably mounted on the rocker shaft. The cranks 73 and 74 are in turn connected, respectively, to the can drop 19 and the cradle 7 by a pair of links or linkage, one 76 serving the can drop and the other 77 the cradle, each link being pivotally connected at its opposite ends to the related of the cranks and the can drop and cradle and preferably being adjustable for any adjustment needed in the positions of the can drop and cradle at the limits of their swings.

The barrel cam 63 mounted on the drive shaft 62 at the side of the gear housing 60 opposite the edge cams 65 and 66 is designed to drive or reciprocate the pusher 36. The desired driving connection is here provided by a preferably straight lever 78 pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the shelf 72 and having its upper arm 79 pivotally connected at its upper end to one end of a link 86, the other end of which is pivotally connected to the carriage 40 of the pusher 36. For engagement with the cam track 81 on the barrel cam 63, the lever 78 mounts or carries on its upper arm 79 intermediate or between its upper end and the pivot 82 a roller 83 which rides on the track. While the lever 78 and the cam followers 65 and 66 all swing or pivot about horizontal axes, the cam followers are constantly urged into engagement with their respective earns 65 and 66 by one of a pair of springs 84, each anchored at one end to the shelf The lever 78, on the contrary, is designed to have its roller 83 disengaged from the cam track 81 on the barrel cam 63 during the interval in which the pusher 36 dwells in its normal or retracted position, the lever being yieldably held during that interval away from the cam by a spring 85 connected at one end to the lower arm 86 of the lever below the pivot 82 and anchored at the other end to the shelf '72, preferably adjustable for enabling its tension to be adjusted. It is desirable also that the disengaged position of the lever 78 beadjustable so that it can determine the position of the head 37 of the pusher 36 relative to the front end of the guide trough 111, while the axial adjustability of the pusher derivable by shifting the adjusting nuts 43 of its stem or rod 33 is depended on for determining the position of the head at the end of the pushers advance stroke. Such a-djustability of the disengaged position of the lever 78 is readily obtained by suitable means, such as the illustrated adjusting screw 8'7 threaded into a lug 88 depending from the shelf '72 and engageable with a confronting side of the lower end portion of the lower lever arm 86, the adjusting screw being fixable in adjusted position by a lock nut 89.

With the above arrangement, the motor 52 is enabled to drive the pusher 36, cradle 7 and can drop 19 in timed sequence, as well as to drive the chain 30 of the elevator 17 at a speed at which one of the elevators pushers will be in position to engage a filled can as it is dropped onto the elevator by the can drop. The motor 52 may also be used to drive the feed belt 2 by providing a siutable driving connection therebetween. However, the feed belt ordinarily will be driven by the drive of the main conveyor in a processing line such as illustrated in my co pending application Serial No. 82,240, filed January 12, 1961, and it is for this reason that no driving connection between the motor and the belt is here shown.

The desired sequence of operation of the pusher 36, transfer cradle 7 and can drop 19 is that the cradle trans fer a batch of slices to the guide trough 11 while the pusher is in retracted position, that the pusher then push the batch'through the centering device 13 and that the can drop present an empty can for receiving the batch during the advance or power stroke of the pusher and after the can is filled drop itonto the elevator 17. a The manner in which the drive cams 63, 65 and 66 and their driving connections to the pusher, cradle and can drop enable this sequence of operations to be obtained is illustrated in FIGURE 7 in which for simplification the barrel cam 63 is illustrated as an edge cam of corresponding contour.

In the positions of the cams 63, 65 and 66 and the associated lever 78 and cam followers 67 and 68 shown in FIGURE 7, the pusher 36 is in retracted position at the beginning of its dwell, the cradle '7 is in the retracted position shown in FIGURE 2, butat the end of its dwell, and the can drop 19 is in its can-dropping position shown in FIGURE at one end of its swing or oscillating movement. At the end of the first 90 or quadrant of rotation of the drive shaft 62, the stage in the operating cycle of the can loader depicted in FIGURE 1, the pusher will be at the end of its dwell, the cradle in batch-transferring or dumping position at the inner end of its swing and in the middle of its oscillating movement, and the can drop at the start of its dwell in position to receive and position an empty can concentrically with the bore 14 of the centering device 13. At 180 the cradle will be in retracted position at the start of its dwell, the can drop in the middle of its dwell and the pusher in its advance or power stroke. At 270 the pusher will have reversed its direction and be on its return or retract stroke and the cradle and can drop will still be in their dwells. In the remaining 90 or last quadrant of the cycle of operation, the pusher will complete its retract stroke, the can drop will swing to can-dropping position and the cradle will remain in its dwell. pusher, can drop and cradle repeats itself each time the can loader loads or fills a can with a batch' of slices.

From the above detailed description, it will be apparent that there has been provided an improved method of loading pineapple slices and a can loader for practising the method, the latter of which will load a can in a single cycle of operation with a'batch of slices of a size to fill it,

' ing with consequent relative simplicity of construction and operation and, while fed slices, can fill cans, as desired, with either whole slices or slices cut into tidbits. It should be understood that the described and disclosed embodiment is merely exemplary of' the invention and that all modifications are intended to be included that do not depart from the spiritof the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

l.'A can loader comprising means for feeding pine apple slices, means for loading said slices into cans in batches each of a size to fill a can, stationary means associated with said loading means for centering said batches on said cans, means connected against relative movement to said centering means for cutting said batches into tidbits during loading thereof, and means movable relative to said centering means for presenting cans for loading through said centering means by said loading means.

2. A can loader comprising a feed conveyor for feeding selected pineapple slices, a pusher offset transversely from said feed conveyor for pushing said slices intoopenended cans, means for transferring slices from said feed conveyor to said pusher in batches each of a size to fill one of said cans, means in the path of said pusher for centering a batch pushed thereby on a can, means for initially presenting a can empty for loading through said centering means and subsequently discharging said can after filling, and means for operating said pusher, transfer means and can presenting and discharging means in timed sequence. V g

3. A can loader comprising a feed conveyor for feed- 7 ing selected pineapple slices, a pusher offset transversely from said feed conveyor for pushing said slices into openended cans, eans for transferring slices from said feed conveyor to said pusher in batches each of a size to fill one of said cans, means in the path of said pusher for centering a batch pushed thereby on a can, means for initially presenting a can empty for loading through said centering means and subsequently discharging said can after filling, and cam means for operating said pusher,

transfer means and can presenting and discharging means in timed sequence.

4. A can loader comprising a feed conveyor for feeding selected pineapple slices, a pusher offset transversely from said feed conveyor for pushing said slices into open-ended cans, means for transferring slices from said feed conveyor to said pusher in batches each of a size to fill one of said cans, means in the path of said pusher for centering a batch pushed thereby on a can, means for initially presenting a can empty for loading through said centering means and subsequently discharging said can after filling, gravity means for supplying empty cans to said presenting and discharging means, and means for operating said pusher, transfer means and can presenting and discharging means in timed sequence.

5. A can loader comprising horizontally disposed centering means, means for pushing a batch of pineapple slices horizontally through said centering means, a chute upstanding adjacent said centering means for feeding open-ended empty cans by gravity, oscillatable means disposed below said chute and adapted in one position to receive and position each of said cans in axial alignment This full cycle of operation of the with said centering means for loading by said pusher and in another position to discharge the cans after filling, and means on said oscillatable means for holding succeeding cans in said chute during shifting thereof between said positions.

6. A can loader comprising horizontally disposed centering means, means for pushing a batch of pineapple slices horizontally through said centering means, a chute upstanding adjacent said centering means for feeding open-ended empty cans by gravity, oscillatable means disposed below said chute and adapted in one position to receive and position each of said cans in axial alignment with said centering means for loading by said pusher and in another position to discharge the cans after filling, and an elevator for receiving and lifting to a higher level filled cans discharged by said oscillatable means.

7. A can loader comprising horizontally disposed centering means, means for pushing a batch of pineapple slices horizontally through said centering means, a chute upstanding adjacent said centering means for feeding open-ended empty cans by gravity, oscillatable means disposed below said chute and adapted in one position to receive and position each of said cans in axial alignment with said centering means for loading by said pusher and in another position to discharge the cans after filling, means on said oscillatable means for holding succeeding cans in said chute during shifting thereof between said positions, and an elevator for receiving and lifting ,to a higher level filled cans discharged by said oscillatable means.

8. A can loader comprising a centering device including a housing having a horizontally directed cylindrical bore, a plurality of sleeves interchangeably insertable into said housing concentrically of said bore, each of said sleeves having a cylindrical inner wall adapted in place to form a substantial part of a wall in said housing defining said bore, said inner wall of one of said inserts being uninterrupted and of said other insert being interrupted by a plurality of circumferentially spaced radially instanding knives fixed thereto for respectively passing whole slices and cutting slices radially into tidbits as they pass through said bore, shiftable means adapted in one position to present an open-ended can concentrically with said bore and in another position to discharge a can, and a pusher for pushing slices through said bore into the can presented thereto by said shiftable means.

9. A can loader comprising a housing having a horizontally directed cylindrical bore, a casing covering and having a rear Wall spaced from and confronting a rear end of said bore, a chute opening downwardly into said casing for supplying empty cans by gravity thereto, shiftable means in said casing between said rear wall thereof and said bore, said shiftable means being adapted in one position to receive and position an empty can from said chute concentrically with said bore and backed by said rear wall and in another position to discharge said can after filling, an elevator positioned to receive and lift to a higher level filled cans discharged by said shiftable means, and a pusher for pushing slices through said bore into the can positioned concentrically therewith by said shiftable means.

10. A can loader comprising a supply trough having a fixed entry section, an oscillatable transfer cradle forming a rear part of said trough and normally aligned with said entry section, a fixed stop plate at a rear end of said cradle, means for feeding pineapple slices endwise and on edge along said supply trough to said stop plate, plate means carried by said cradle and operative during oscillation thereof for temporarily blocking a rear end of said entry section, said cradle being of a length to receive and transfer a batch of slices of a size to fill a can, a fixed guide trough spaced transversely from and substantially aligned transversely with said cradle for receiving a batch of slices therefrom, a housing at a rear of and having a cylindrical bore aligned axially with said guide trough, an oscillatable can drop for presenting an empty can in axial alignment with said bore and discharging said can after filling, an elevator positioned to receive and lift to a higher level filled cans discharged by said can drop, a normally retracted reciprocable pusher for pushing a batch of slices from said guide trough through said bore into a can presented by said can drop, a motor, a drive shaft drivably connected to said motor, drive means fixed to said shaft for driving said elevator, and axially spaced cams fixed to said shaft and each drivably connected to one of said cradle, can drop and pusher for drive thereof in timed sequence.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,736,257 Douglass Nov. 19, 1929 2,092,773 Nordquist et al. Sept. 14, 1937 2,092,786 Taylor Sept. 14, 1937 2,190,936 DeBack Feb. 20, 1940 2,247,401 Papendick July 1, 1941 2,345,310 Willoughby Mar. 28, 1944 2,747,352 Whitecar May 29, 1956 

1. A CAN LOADER COMPRISING MEANS FOR FEEDING PINEAPPLE SLICES, MEANS FOR LOADING SAID SLICES INTO CANS IN BATCHES EACH OF A SIZE TO FILL A CAN, STATIONARY MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID LOADING MEANS FOR CENTERING SAID BATCHES ON SAID CANS, MEANS CONNECTED AGAINST RELATIVE MOVEMENT TO SAID CENTERING MEANS FOR CUTTING SAID BATCHES INTO TIDBITS DURING LOADING THEREOF, AND MEANS MOVABLE RELATIVE TO SAID CENTERING MEANS FOR PRESENTING CANS FOR LOADING THROUGH SAID CENTERING MEANS BY SAID LOADING MEANS. 